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[quote=Anonymous]Copy pasting some recs I got below with more info. We stayed at a villa in Albufiera, the beachfront area of this village feels like the British version of Jersey shore but in the winter it isn’t crowded.

We had very young kids with us so generally took it easy but explored the beaches and coastal walks, Lagos, ponte de pireada and Porches. Be aware a lot of the beach clubs mentioned below won’t be open. We ended up not doing a boat bc the water is choppy in the winter and again we had babies with us. Hope that helps!

s from my trip are below:

-        Beaches

o   We were there in the summer, so our trip centered around relaxing on the beach. From my experience, all the beaches that we went to were great and clean (and not too crowded!). We didn’t go to any “main” beaches at town centers, so that probably helped. We brought towels, snacks, and beverages in a cooler, and the beaches we went to typically had an umbrella / chair vendor for 5-10 euros per chair. Our typical plan was to go to a beach with a beachside restaurant (many of the small beaches have one) serving fresh seafood. Typically no reservations needed at these restaurants, but for a large group you might want to give them a call before. We didn’t run into any problems showing up in the AM and asking them for a lunch reservation for our group of 6.

o   Beaches we loved:

§  Praia do Barranco das Belharucas

·       There are a number of good looking restaurants as this is the corner of one of the main beach strips – we ate at Restaurante O Golfinho and it was lovely

·       You can walk on a designated hike path over the rocks to a gorgeous hidden beach over the western rockline (there’s also a staircase to access next to the hotel Tui Blue Falésia)

§  Praia do Castelo

·       Cool beach nestled in between cliffs with a staircase to get there (FYI – not sure if everyone that’s traveling is okay with stairs, so definitely check out accessibility before going if that’s a concern)

·       Great food at Costelo Beach Club, and this is a pretty hidden spot so it wasn’t crowded at all when we went

·       Very cool off-road path through an open sea archway to go see the other side of the inlet (see map below), and there’s also a great walking trail along the cliffs here – this is a lot quieter and less mainstream than Praia do Barranco das Belharucas (which is on the main strip of beach east of Albufeira)

§  Praia da Coelha

·       Similar to Castelo (and right next to it) – gorgeous beach nestled in the cliffs

·       I didn’t go here but my friend recommends this one and the little beach restaurant here

-        Get out on a boat!

o   We used Algarve Charters and did a private excursion on Finismar for a full day – tons of fun, great guides, and it was so cheap (less than $1,500 if I’m remembering correctly). We got to see all the little beaches and they took us to a gorgeous secluded beach only accessible by boat (surrounded by cliffs) and did a cookout. We went into some of the sea caves in a little john boat too. Not sure what this is like during the winter (the boat was an open sailboat), but this is definitely something to look into. It was one of our favorite activities – great way to see a lot of the coast

-        Explore Pottery in Porches

o   Porches is very famous for their pottery – we didn’t make it to a class, but definitely would recommend checking out some of the pottery they do (museum, class, pottery shop, etc.)

-        Do a day in Faro (or another medieval town)

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